Wesley Kanne Clark

U.S. Army (Ret.) General Wesley Kanne Clark is "presently Chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm" and Chairman of Rodman and Renshaw, "a New York based investment bank."

Clark is an analyst for MSNBC and a Senior Fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years, and the author, most recently, of A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country."

As a strategic advisor for Immtech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Clark provides "counsel to Immtech's management team as the Company develops its drug programs targeting various global health challenges, including malaria prevention and treatment."

From 1997 to 2000, he was the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. He served in the United States Army for more than 35 years, including serving in Vietnam and as the commander in chief of the United States European Command. He currently serves pro bono as a senior advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a director of the Atlantic Council, and a member of the board of the International Crisis Group. He is also a member of the board of the Markle Foundation.

Clark, along with Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke, was involved with peace talks in Bosnia.

Clark is also:
 * Former Director, National Endowment for Democracy
 * Trustee, National Committee on American Foreign Policy
 * Member, Task Force on the United Nations
 * Military analyst for CNN

War with Iran
"But if it's clear how a war with Iran would start, it's far less clear how it would end. How might Iran strike back? Would it unleash Hezbollah cells across Europe and the Middle East, or perhaps even inside the United States? Would Tehran goad Iraq's Shiites to rise up against their U.S. occupiers? And what would we do with Iran after the bombs stopped falling? We certainly could not occupy the nation with the limited ground forces we have left. So what would it be: Iran as a chastened, more tractable government? As a chaotic failed state? Or as a hardened and embittered foe?" Clark wrote September 16, 2007, in a Washington Post op-ed.

War in Iraq
In August 2002, Clark, "the retired general who led the NATO alliance during the Kosovo campaign, also joined the voices counselling against an invasion without international co-operation.


 * "In an article for the September [2002] issue of The Washington Monthly, he said: 'The early successes (in Afghanistan) seem to have reinforced the conviction of some within the US Government that the continuing war on terrorism is best waged outside the structures of international institutions. This is a fundamental misjudgment. The longer the war goes on . . . the more our success will depend on the willing co-operation and active participation of our allies.'"

In September 2002, Clark "warned that attacking Iraq could divert military resources and political commitment to the global effort against Al Qaeda and possibly 'supercharge' recruiting for the terrorist network."


 * "'It's a question of what's the sense of urgency here, and how soon would we need to act unilaterally?' said General Clark, an Army officer who commanded allied forces in the 1999 Kosovo air war. 'So far as any of the information has been presented, there is nothing that indicates that in the immediate, next hours, next days, that there's going to be nuclear-tipped missiles put on launch pads to go against our forces or our allies in the region.'"

Profiles
In 2003, Clark was "rumored to be in the running as a Democratic candidate for the presidency in the 2004 election. Clark grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended the U. S. Army academy at West Point (1966), where he graduated first in his class. He also earned a graduate degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and commanded fighting troups in Vietnam, where he was injured three times. During the '80s and '90s he moved up the military ladder and served as and administrator in training and command posts, eventually becoming a four-star general. In 1997 he was named as the U. S. commander of NATO forces in Europe by President Bill Clinton. In 1999 Clark was in charge of the NATO victory in Kosovo over the forces of Slobadan Milosevic, but in 2000 he retired after 34 years in the army (some stories have it that he was forced to retire). Clark retired to the private sector as an author, consultant and investment banker, a highly decorated soldier and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D. C. in 2001, Clark was a frequent guest commentator on television, emerging in 2003 as a strong critic of President George W. Bush's military policy in the Middle East."

On February 11, 2004, Clark dropped out of the presidential race.

Board memberships
"Wesley Clark, the former Army General who announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 17, [2003] has not given up his board memberships, according to published accounts."

"Since retiring from the military in 2000, Clark has held a variety of industrial positions, including jobs with a Washington, DC-based technology firm, an investment company, and director or advisor positions with six other organizations. In most cases he was brought on board to assist with military or government contracts.

"One such company is Acxiom Corp., the Little Rock, AR-based data firm. Clark joined Acxiom in December 2001, and played a part in the company's efforts to market its services to federal organizations involved in homeland security, according to Acxiom spokesman Dale Ingram.

"Ingram did not comment on whether Clark's actions resulted in any new business for Acxiom.

"While Clark is maintaining his position on Acxiom's board of directors, he did terminate his consulting agreement with the company upon announcing his candidacy. That contract was valued at $150,000 per year, said Ingram."

Clark is "involved with Tiversa Inc., VIASPACE Inc., Stephens Group Inc., Acxiom Corp., Entrust Inc., Sirva Inc., Time Domain Inc.", William M. Arkin wrote August 31, 2007, in his Washington Post Early Warning column.

Articles by Wesley K. Clark

 * "An Army of One? In the war on terrorism, alliances are not an obstacle to victory. They're the key to it," The Washington Monthly, September 2002.
 * "Broken Engagement. The strategy that won the Cold War could help bring democracy to the Middle East-- if only the Bush hawks understood it," The Washington Monthly, May 2004.
 * "Before It's Too Late in Iraq," Washington Post, August 26, 2005.
 * Commentary: "Bush's 'surge' will backfire. The rise in troop numbers could reduce the urgency for political effort," The Independent (UK), January 7, 2007.
 * "Joe Lieberman Is At It Again," The Huffington Post, June 12, 2007.
 * With Kal Raustiala, "Why Terrorists Aren’t Soldiers," New York Times, August 8, 2007.
 * Commentary: "The military in Iraq are resolving nothing. There are more important issues than troop numbers and withdrawal dates. The US should take a lead in talking to Iran – now," The Independent (UK), September 9, 2007.
 * Opinion: "The Next War. It's always looming. But has our military learned the right lessons from this one to fight it and win?" Washington Post, September 16, 2007.

Contact information

 * Securing America/WesPAC
 * StopIranWar.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Operation Iraqi Freedom: Military and Political Dissent
 * U.S. presidential election, 2004
 * West Point Class of 1966
 * Murat Armbruster

External resources

 * Wesley Clark, NNDB.com.
 * Wesley Clark in the Wikipedia.
 * DraftClark.com.
 * Race for the White House (2004): Wesley Clark, OpenSecrets.org.
 * Wesley Clark FAQ. Wesley Clark on the issues: Patriot Act I, War on terrorism, Post-war Iraq, NATO, gays in military, etc.
 * Compare where Wesley Clark stands on the issues - whereIstand.com.

Video links

 * "Gen. Wesley Clark Takes on Fox News" posted on YouTube, 2006: "Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark took on Fox News' Juliet Huddy on 'Dayside' over issues like negotiating with Iran and Syria and the advent of 'World War III'."
 * "The Plan -- according to U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.)," Democracy Now!, March 2, 2007; posted on YouTube: "In an interview with Amy Goodman on March 2, 2007, U.S. General Wesley Clark (Ret.), explains that the Bush Administration planned to take out 7 countries in 5 years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Lybia, Somalia, Sudan, Iran."
 * Nicole Belle, "Late Edition: Wes Clark talks to Blitzer," Crooks and Liars, September 18, 2007.

2001

 * "Waging Modern War," PBS Online NewsHour, June 15, 2001.

2003

 * Chris Suellentrop, "Wesley Clark. Is there a general in the house?" Slate, January 8, 2003.
 * "US becoming a colonial power: Wesley Clark," Times of India, February 17, 2003.
 * "Media Silent on Clark's 9/11 Comments. Gen. says White House pushed Saddam link without evidence," FAIR, June 20, 2003.
 * "Wesley Clark: The New Anti-War Candidate?" FAIR, September 16, 2003.
 * "The Awful Truth About General Wesley Clark," Dissident Voice, September 18, 2003 (updated October 14, 2003).
 * Steven Komarow, Clark's Army records released by campaign, USA TODAY, October 17, 2003: "Wesley Clark's presidential campaign released records of his 34 years in the Army on Thursday, but the 200-plus pages shed no light on the high-level bickering that ended his career."
 * Deborah Orin, Bubba's 'General' Retreat, Op-Ed, New York Times (Yahoo! News): "Wesley Clark's fizzle from superstar wannabe to self-proclaimed 'underdog' is raising new questions in the Democratic Party about former President Bill Clinton's star - and political smarts."
 * William Safire, Op-Ed: "Never Love a Stranger," New York Times, November 12, 2003: "Clintonites were first to take the Howard Dean threat seriously. ... the Clinton crowd surrounded ex-Gen. Wesley Clark with Clinton managers, spinmeisters, pollsters and fund-raisers and marched him into battle against Dean. ... The Clinton political strategy was, as usual, astute: let Dick Gephardt slow Dean down in Iowa, then push Clark hard enough to upset Dean in New Hampshire, or at least attract enough of the isolationist vote from Dean to let John Forbes Kerry squeak through."
 * Michael Kranish, An Arkansas alliance, and high-ranking foes, Boston Globe, November 17, 2003.

2004

 * "DEMOCRACY NOW! Confronts Wesley Clark Over His Bombing Of Civilians, Use Of Cluster Bombs And Depleted Uranium And The Bombing Of Serb Television," Democracy Now!, January 26, 2004.
 * "Former Democratic presidential candidate criticizes Bush," Associated Press (USA TODAY), April 18, 2004: "Clark said he holds Bush responsible for taking the country into war in Iraq, saying the war has distracted the United States from its real adversary: al Qaeda terrorists. ... 'We went into Iraq without adequate justifications (because) the president and the vice president were obsessed with Saddam Hussein' ... He also insisted Iraq had no connection to the September 11, 2001 attacks, apparently had no weapons of mass destruction and was not an imminent threat to the United States. ... 'We must hold this president responsible for grievous misleadership of this country,' Clark told the Nebraska Democrats. 'Don't be afraid to say it.'"

2007

 * Matthew Ygelesias, "Smears for Fears. Wes Clark just got caught up in the rigged rules for discussing Israel-related issues in America," The American Prospect, January 23, 2007.
 * Kathleen Reardon, "The Clinton-Clark Ticket: What Are the Chances?" The Huffington Post, August 31, 2007.
 * "America 'Needs New Strategy,' Gen. Wesley Clark Tells 2,700 at DePauw Ubben Lecture," DePauw News/DePauw University, September 4, 2007.
 * Beth Fouhy, "Wesley Clark Endorses Hillary Clinton," Associated Press, September 15, 2007.
 * Joel Connelly, "General calls for surge in diplomacy," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 16, 2007.
 * Ian Schwartz, "Wesley Clark Implies 'Troops Bust' Down Doors and 'Rough Up' Women," NewsBusters, September 20, 2007.
 * The Bay Area Intellect,"Wesley Clark Speaks On A Time To Lead, American Foreign Policy, and The Upcoming Elections, October 10, 2007"